|Fact Finding Report| An All Out War

On March 2, 2012, Bangalore witnessed riotous scenes of confrontation between a large number of advocates and a section of the media which took place in the presence of the police in the Civil Court premises in the city. This was followed by a brutal lathi charge by the police on the lawyers present in the court in which over 100 lawyers were reportedly injured. This unprecedented event has produced consternation in the minds of many people regarding the workings of two vital institutions of democracy in the country, namely the lawyer community and the media, as well as the role of the police in such conflict situations. Accordingly, two human rights organizations, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (Karnataka) and People’s Democratic Forum decided to conduct a fact-finding investigation into the incidents that took place in the City Civil Court Complex on March 2, 2012.